A Pearl in Your Hand
by Terra Saltt
Summary: The rest of the Mer have been hunted to near extinction, leaving Tino alone with his memories. But when a human with striking blue eyes captures him in his net, will he be killed on spot? Sweden x Mer!Finland. I'm keeping it up because people seem to like it. :
1. The Last of my Kind

**There is a bit of set-up here so you don't get confused when the story really begins. Fluffles to come, I swear it~**

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There used to be so much life in these waters. Sure there are still fish, but it's not like you can jump and laugh with a fish. No, the real life of the river was in its people. Its Mer people, to be exact. We would swim and play with each other in the shallows and race against the soft currents. There was plenty of food and fun to be had, and we lived peacefully with the land and its inhabitants. The people of the land were very nice to us. They often brought us gifts and in return we would give them precious stones we found on the river bottom. It was a nice friendship that lasted generations. We Mer can outlive any human by far, so we witnessed their lives from the beach and watched them also live peacefully with the land.

Then there was talk of big white birds not too far from here. Apparently in the waters where all rivers met had brought things we had never seen before from lands unknown. As soon as the first talk of the big white birds came about, so did the end of our happy days.

The native humans began to grow timid. We noticed them look over their shoulders when they came for water or to wash themselves and their clothes. They no longer let their children play with us, they kept them by their sides at all times. They told us there were new people of the land here and that it wasn't safe for us to remain. We didn't think much of it, the humans always made mountains out of mole hills. It wasn't until we saw smoke on the horizon in the direction of the human village that we started to take them seriously.

The people of the land had fled their homes, leaving us only a warning behind. It wasn't long until the new people of the land stumbled out onto our banks, some splattered in red liquid that made us gag. These people were loud and rude. They wore heavy amounts of clothes and things over their very pale skin that made them seem so much more distant from the nature that birthed them. They had no respect for the land. They cut down trees out of sport and threw their trash into the waters we called home.

Fed up, one of us went to seek their reasoning for doing such things. That Mer was the first to die. The new person of the land saw my swimming schoolmate and nearly fell over in surprise. When he saw its tail, he pulled out a strange boom-stick and the Mer fell over and went still. We felt the water become poisoned with death and it nearly chocked us as we fled to the safety of the deep. We are not water breathers like the fish, we still require breaths of air every few minutes or we would drown. It was not possible to stay out of their sight for very long, and after a few tense days of stressful hiding and fearful cries for the ones dead, we swam away.

It was not right. Our entire school had to move up river to escape the brutality of the new people of the land. We had to leave our home in search of a new place that would welcome us. Every time we thought we found one, the new people of the land would show up after. They seemed to move like a disease, destroying and displacing the old people of the land as well as hunting us for our tails. I saw many a Mer be butchered on spot. They only took the tail. Nothing more.

That is until they found out that when we cry, our tears become pearls.

Now began the torture. If one of us was caught, they would throw us into a barrel of stinking water and shake it until we were nearly dead. They would burn our arms and strike us until we had cried as many tears as we possibly could before slipping off into the hands of death. Their screams were terrible.

Only the most nimble survived the longest. We learned not to play and laugh as we used to. We knew to stay near the bottom of the river as often as we could. The Mer couldn't live this kind of life, many died of stress and depression. There were only a few of us left now, and we decided we would go back downstream and back to the place we once called home. There was always hope the new people of the land had moved on from there. Perhaps it was safe again.

We really just wanted the comfort of dying in our home. Sadly, only one of us would have that honor.

On the trek back there was a group of pale-faced humans with nets fishing in the river, and we swam right into them. We thrashed and fought with the captured fish, trying to find a way out, but there was none. In the struggle one of my schoolmates died beside me of drowning. The other two were pulled from the water by their hair and thrown to the shore. The humans crowded around them as they shook in terror, holding each other in final goodbyes. In the midst of it, they decided not to let the brutes have their lives. So they took their own.

We Mer can chose to die whenever we want. Unlike humans who have to do something to themselves in order to die, we merely wish it and it becomes so. None of us ever wish for something like that, so we wondered for the longest time what the purpose of the ability was. Now we knew.

Out of some miracle I was able to have a clear head and a calm steady hand. I unwrapped my trapped tail and arms from the netting slowly and carefully while the humans poked the limp bodies of my schoolmates. If it weren't for them, I might not have been able to swim out through the hold I made in the mesh.

Pearls must now line the riverbed from there to here. When I finally reached our home, I slumped over on a low rock and hardly moved for hours. I was home…but I was alone. There was nothing to do now but wait for a human to come and find me. Until then, I decided I would live as long as possible here as a monument to what we used to be. After so many years, this spot had hardly changed. I wanted it to stay as so and for that to happen, it needed a Mer.

I, Tino, was the last Mer alive.

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**POOR FISHY DUDE D':**

**Okay. On with the story in the next chapter!**


	2. The one that got Away

**Oh yeah, and I guess this is BL. Finland/Tino x Sweden/Berwald. I only guess because in this story, Mer are kinda genderless. Tino is a he-she.**

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I woke to the sound of water flowing past my ears. It was a heavenly sound, one that made me almost forget how empty the river was. I would have gladly stayed there listening to the soft clink of pebbles on the river bottom being tossed around by the current in my half consciousness, but I knew better. The sun was rising and soon it would be unsafe to lie in the shallows with closed eyes.

I got up and pushed my body over a smooth boulder on the shore that I had dubbed my sitting rock. It was a little cove where the water didn't rush and the fish lazily darted between rocks under the calm clear surface. I began right away with my hands to comb my unruly hair. I often wore it short, as did most of the Mer, to keep it from tangling or getting in my way. Now with only me left, my hair had grown out a little more than I liked. It was taking longer each day to comb out the tangles and mats, which left me very annoyed and frustrated.

"I should just cut it all off!" I growled at my head in the Mer language. I was the only one that spoke it now. Even with the threat, the tangle didn't come out very easy. I was so concentrated on the knot that I didn't notice the pair of eyes on me from the bushes. When I look back on it, I realize how stupid I was for turning my back to the forest. Anything could have been behind me.

I heard a twig snap and I whirled my head around. There seemed to be nothing there. My eyes darted from tree to tree, bush to bush, looking fearfully for the source. When my eyes landed on a deer and its baby grazing on grass not too far away, I relaxed a little. Focusing on my hair once more, I finally got rid of that nasty tie and worked on another.

Another twig snapped. I glanced up at the deer that in turn looked at me before going back to her grass. That deer was making me jumpy for no reason. I should have been taking that precious time to enjoy this place as I had wanted to. Though I longed for the ability to fully unwind and play in the sunny water as my nature so wanted, I knew it could never happen again. Not when I was going to be the everlasting tombstone for the Mer.

The sound of heavy feet on soft ground suddenly snapped me back awake. That damn deer had made me lenient on my watch duties! My heart pounding and adrenaline rushing through my veins, I took a powerful jump off my sitting rock and made for the water below. Unfortunately I was a moment too late. A large net unexpectedly grabbed me and hugged my small frame. As I dove into the water, the web pressed against my face and held me tightly as I thrashed.

Not good, not good! This was it, a human was finally going to end it all! I was going to die, and the Mer would no longer exist. I thought back to the few months I had been here to enjoy my home and found myself craving more. But there was nothing I could do, I was captured at last.

Whoever had me was indeed very strong. They held tight as I made my last few attempts at freedom before growing slack. I knew this day would come, after all, and it was time to accept my fate. The moment I stopped, I was dragged up and over the soft sandy banks until the water was too far for me to jump into again. I watched my river get farther away, and I cried. I had promised myself I would not reward my killer with my precious tears, but they came anyway.

At the sound of my yelps, the net went lax. I looked up to see the face of my murderer.

He was tall. Very tall, and very well built. His arms were toned and his skin was white, but a little tan. He wore a deep blue tunic and white trousers, along with knee high black boots with a small knife pocket in the side. The knife was missing, which I assumed was in his hand. When I looked he was holding nothing but the net, thank goodness. The man's hair was blonde and short. On his face was a pair of those odd glass things some humans wore over their noses and ears, and behind them were very striking blue eyes. Above all else, however, the one thing I truly noted was the look on his face. He looked mesmerized.

I whined and cried at the sight of him looming over me. I tried quickly to wish for death, to bring it on myself before he could do it. But as I quivered under his gaze, my mind went blank. This man was literally scaring me out of death.

My eyes suddenly darted around, looking for that water barrel he was surely going to toss me in. There was none. Okay, so he was going to just cut off my tail…No, there wasn't any sight of a knife or sharp weapon. That left one other option that made me swallow and shiver harder. For some reason, the humans had come up with the horrible idea that having intercourse with a Mer would grant them immortality. Some of us had been raped on the banks of the river, sometimes by multiple men at once. We often preferred being tortured in the barrel to this fate, but it wasn't like we had the choice.

The man suddenly squatted to my side. I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for some form of pain, but none came. Instead I felt something ghost over my scales and limbs, tugging at the net around me. When I looked up, the man was unwrapping me from the mess. He was being as gentle as a fish gliding through strips of kelp in a current, which surprised me greatly. I let him lift my quaking limbs and undo the tangle around me. Soon I was free, but not safe. The man still loomed over me on the balls of his feet with a terrifying look of fascination.

I looked at him. He stared back. Without warning he reached out his hand and I held my arms out to block my face. Instead of hitting me, his hand trailed over my tail from my hip to my fins. I shivered involuntarily and began to cry again. At the sight of my white pearly tears, he lifted his hand and inched back. Normally the humans would steal up my tears and smile in victory. This one merely frowned.

He said something in a language I had never heard before. I continued shaking and he quickly switched to the more prominently used tongue among the new people of the land.

"M' n't g'nna h'rt ya," His voice was low and but soft. Despite the heavy accent, it almost felt calming, and I held my breath and stayed frozen on the ground. He seemed to take it as an answer of understanding and he brought his hand over my scales again, this time tracing over the part where my fish half melded with my human-like torso. He rubbed the natural seem of skin and scales with his callused fingers and I watched a small inquisitive smile turn his lips upwards ever so slightly. I squirmed under his hand and he looked back at my face with admiration.

"Y'r beau't'ful…" he breathed, almost in a trance.

I'm beautiful? Is that what he had just said? Yes, he did. He thought I was beautiful. All humans thought we were beautiful. That was why we were in this mess in the first place. I didn't need to be reminded.

It seemed this human was only curious of me. So far there were no harmful movements or anything that would make me think ill of him. To be honest, I was curious too. I hadn't been this close to a human since I was a child back in the glory days of us Mer. I hardly remember what it was like to feel their skin, so much alike ours and yet so different.

My hand moved almost without my permission and rested above the human's hand on my waist. He almost pulled back in surprise, but held it there for me to feel. It was very smooth, but a little rough and dry. There were little hairs up and down his arms that tickled my slick fingers when I ran over them. He sat and waited patiently for me to be done as I turned his hand over to feel the underside. His hand was larger than mine and his palms were callused and leathery, but still smooth. I pressed my palm lightly into his, comparing its size to mine. Looking back at his face, he stared back with wonder and awe.

I let go and leaned back on my palms as I watched him watch me. A minute went by. Two minutes. Three. He wasn't making any real movements, and neither was I. My eyes darted to the water, then back at him. Scooting back an inch, I wondered what he would do. He did nothing, so I scooted back two inches. Still nothing. I turned my head, breaking the stare, and flopped onto my belly and tried to drag myself to the water again. I struggled at my weight and rolled my tail side to side like a snake, hoping it would work the same way. It only made me look stupid.

The man was suddenly over me again on his feet. I yelped at his size and fell on my back, ready to try and fight. Instead he lifted me off the ground in his arms and held me to his chest gingerly. My tail flopped over one arm and my shoulders leaned on the other. My shaking hands clasped his shirt in fear of being dropped and he lightly chuckled. Step by step, he carried me to the water until we were at its edge. He lowered me to the small waves and I took full advantage by twisting around and leaping in, kicking my tail as hard as I could, and dove deep to the middle of the river where it was safe.

Home at last! I had survived a close encounter with a human with hardly a scratch! Tonight I would celebrate under the moon and splash playfully with the sleeping fish as I once did in the sunlight. Curiosity soon got the best of me and I swam to the midway rocks that marked the middle of the river, then peeked out above the waves as I held on against the strong current.

The man was still on the shore wiping his face with his tunic, which he had removed revealing a very fit body. I guess I had splashed him, which made me giggle. Serves him right for capturing me and…not…killing me…? That wasn't right. Or rather, it was very nice of him.

The man looked out over the river for a moment before gathering the discarded net and walking off into the trees. With any luck, I would never see him again.

Or maybe, in the back of my stupid lonely head, I had hoped that I would…


	3. A Treasure for Me, A Treasure for You

The adrenaline rush from that morning left me exhausted. I couldn't do my normal daily ritual of staying to the deeper and faster moving water below the surface this way, so I went to the rocks on the opposite side from my sitting place and wedged myself in with the long grasses. It was a perfect place to rest and be hidden.

Within only a few hours of the event, the man was suddenly back. He couldn't see me from over here, so I kept watch from my spot. He was carrying something in a small red cloth as he toddled over to my sitting place where he had first seen me. Sitting on a rock next to mine, he opened the cloth and placed it on my boulder. He did one or two things to whatever was now on my sitting place before sitting back on his. There he waited. From here I watched.

Being a Mer, I can smell much better than humans. We can taste the berries on the wind when it is spring, and we would often lead the old people of the land to them so they could pick and share the rare juicy treats. I knew the smell of berries any day, and the smell I was picking up was indeed the succulent aroma of them. Whatever was on that cloth was delicious, I just knew it, and I had to contain myself from going there and snatching it up. But I was smart. I wasn't going to just go over there with that man sitting and waiting for me to show. No, I would wait until he left before investigating. I could wait, I was a pro.

The man was indeed patient. After a full hour of sitting and watching the waves, he finally gave up and stood. I, being a little less patient than normal when it comes to food, took this as a white flag and I dove under the water, still unseen, and made a beeline for the opposite shore. The man was still walking away when I made it to my sitting rock and snatched up the little white and red thing that sat upon it.

Sitting in the water behind my boulder, I sniffed the odd thing in my hand. It was small and round and a little heavy for its size. Part of it crumbled off in my fingers and fell into the water as I studied it. On top there was something I did recognize from my youth: Jam. Humans were so good with foods, they had figured out to make the sweetest things in nature even sweeter. I licked the jam and felt a shiver go down my spine from the wonderful taste. This was a treasure worth savoring!

The thing the jam was spread on was also delicious, and when eaten together it was heaven on earth. Screw savoring it, I crammed it in my mouth and let the flavor explode on my tongue. Regrettably, it was gone faster than I knew it. As I licked the last of the jam off my slender fingers, the sun suddenly grew a bit dark. No, it wasn't the sun…there was a shadow over me. The man was leaning over the rock and smiling down at my shocked face.

I screamed and dove under the water. Bad idea, I had hardly any breath once submerged and was forced to surface again for a half second as I crossed the river to the midway rocks. When I arrived safely (but now with a cramp as I had just eaten something rather filling) I panted and looked back at the man who was now laughing as he sat by the shore. Not an evil or booming laugh, but a laugh of delight.

The man saw me and waved, and I hid my face behind stone.

"I c'n br'ng ya m're 'f th't 'f ya l'ke!" He yelled over the constant rush of water. I peeked at him, then turned and left. The man shook his head and walked away himself. I would not see him again until the next day after having many blissful dreams involving the taste of the whatever-that-thing-was, only to wake up and crave it like nothing else in my life.

The next day was overcast. The sky was gray with clouds that hinted possible rain, though I smelled none on the wind so I confirmed the clouds were lying. I found myself back in my hiding spot by the midway rocks starring at the place the human male seemed to appear from the day before. I watched it closely, thinking I would miss him if I looked away for a second. He said he would bring more of that wonderful food, and I was holding him to that promise. I had to taste it again, just once, so I knew it was real.

Finally! He appeared from the woods carrying another small cloth. My eyes went wide when he climbed over my sitting place and began to set up a set of my heart's true desires. He took a bite of one and held the other in his hand, waiting. Why didn't he just put it on the rock and leave already? Was he seriously that dumb to think I would just swim right up to him and take it from his hand?

Or…perhaps that is what he wanted.

No, not in a hundred more years. I was smart. I was the last remaining Mer, and there was a reason for it. I wouldn't just walk into such an obvious trap set by some human!

Or…maybe I would.

I licked my lips as I stared at the treat in the man's hand as he chewed on his own. This was indeed torture. The barrel had nothing on this. I weighed my options. The man could snatch me as I reached for it and he could then hold me down as he raped me, gathered my tears in his greedy palms, and then cut off my tail with a concealed blade and watch me die with an evil laugh. Was the jam-on-the-thing really worth risking all that?

It somehow was. I broke down and headed towards him under the water. He saw the glint of my scales as I emerged a few feet away, swimming against the current to stay in place. He looked so happy to see me, then noticed my distance and glare. The man held out his hand with my treat in it and leaned toward me, tempting me to come forward. I was tempted all right, but I didn't move.

"C'me 'n, l'ttle one…" He cooed in that low and soft voice of his. "T's f'r ya."

I narrowed my eyes as I felt my stomach growl and my mouth water. Still, I would not give in so easily.

"M'de 't fr'sh f'r ya. T's st'll w'rm."

I was suffering here as I stared hungrily at the treat in his hand. I then studied his face. It was calm and relaxed. His posture was lazy and inviting. I saw no wound muscles ready to spring forward, no look of harm in his bright blue eyes. Maybe…if I was careful, then perhaps I could…

Swallowing hard, I angled my body and started to move hesitantly forward. The man's playful smirk turned into a warm smile and his eyes seemed to soften at me. I kept very much alert at every movement he made, from the little twitch in his finger to the slow up and down of his broad chest as he breathed.

I was close enough to grab my prize. With a last look at him, I reached up quickly and snatched it in my fingers. When I did this the man gave a little jump in surprise at my speed, which in turn scared me half to death and I squeaked as I dove backwards into the water for a clean get-away. I succeeded in this, but in the process my treasure had slipped out of my grasp and floated down the river. I chased after it, determined to get it back after all the trouble I had gone through. Just before I caught up, a large fish came out of nowhere and gulped it up without a second thought. I wanted to catch that fish and pound it to death with my bare fists!

I nearly cried. I was so close to tasting that wonderful thing again, so close to enjoying its sweet and tangy flavor complimented by the soft doughy taste! I pouted as I turned around in defeat. What I saw might as well have been the most outstanding thing ever.

The man was holding out another one while he chuckled under his breath.

A pearl squeezed past my lids in my happiness as I darted to him, determined not to let this one get away. After another intense stare down, I had successfully stolen it from his hand and crammed it in my mouth before it could get away from me again. In the middle of my bliss, however, I noticed it was not as big as the one from the previous day. I looked back at the man with empty hands as he licked a bit of jam off a finger quickly, not taking his eyes off me.

He had just given me his…

I swallowed my food and looked shyly at the man on the rock. He seemed rather pleased with himself after giving me his own treasure. I don't think I could have done such a thing myself, but he had. He caught my look and returned it with a nod.

"Y'r w'lc'me."

No, I wasn't thanking him. I was apologizing to him! Couldn't he see? I wanted to tell him how sorry I was, but I couldn't. Though I understood human language pretty well, Mer vocal chords were better suited for talking and singing underwater. In the air I sounded like a…well, a fish out of water.

I thought of an idea and quickly submerged. The man looked after me, puzzled by my sudden disappearance. I went to the bottom of the river and searched through the pebbles and mud before I finally found it. I grabbed it and swam to the surface again where the man waited and I held out my palm for him. A green emerald shone brightly in my hand, despite the lack of direct sunlight. The old people of the land used to love getting stones like these for reasons unknown to me.

He looked at the stone, then to me with questioning eyes. I inched it a bit closer to him, still alert in case he turned suddenly evil. He gently picked up the stone from my hand and held it to his face, his eyes growing wide. Was he happy? Mad? I couldn't really tell.

"Th'nk ya," He said quietly. I smiled in my reassurance and sunk back into the water. He watched me go and pocketed his gift.

For some reason my heart felt like it was dancing in my chest. The look of thanks the man had given me was forever imbedded in my memory. It made me feel so happy to give him something and get that reaction, but I wasn't sure why. I guess it was because of how long I had gone without any sort of intelligent contact. Or maybe I was feeling lifted of guilt from eating his last jam treat. Whatever it was, I liked it and I settled on the bottom of the river feeling oddly content.

Even among the monsters of the new people of the land, there was at least one that seemed alright. I hoped we could meet more often. I was always rather lonely here by myself.


	4. I Trusted Him

It was raining when I woke a few days later. Cold drops of water from the sky kissed my cheeks as I stayed above the surface so I could breathe. We Mer always had a saying about the rain: It was nature's way of apologizing to the humans for not giving them tails so they could swim with us. They would become wet while they stood on their land, and we would laugh playfully at their pouting faces.

Remembering this only made my heart ache for my family, so I quickly cleared my head and sat up to yawn. My hair needed to be tamed again, and with this rain the chance of a human encounter was lower. Just yesterday it was bright and sunny, so there was much traffic along the edge of my home as humans walked and talked to one another while fishing or throwing stones. I kept my distance. Today there would be little of that, so I could relax a little. Humans didn't like coming out in the rain. I didn't know why, though. I thought the rain felt lovely.

I would have enjoyed it more if my hair weren't so damn stupid. I struggled with it for almost an hour before giving up and swimming off. It was back to the regular routine of staying hidden on the river bottom and in the reeds to the sides. My human wouldn't show up in this rain – wait, did I just call him my human?

Yes…yes, that sounded okay to me. He was my human. My pet. He would come in the mornings after the sun rose before any other humans came and bring me food. I would come when he called and stay close, but not too close, as he threw sticks in the water and I would follow after them playfully. Yes, he was my human. He was my pet.

Okay, so it was more like the other way around...

I felt a little ashamed of my sudden fondness to this human, this new person of the land I had once feared and hated. But it couldn't be helped, I guessed. I was so lonely that I was seeking out the comfort of even the enemy.

Talk about the lion lying down with the lamb.

As I later sat in the reeds eating my usual diet of river grasses and small fish, I smelled something through the rain. It was the scent of fish…dead fish, and also the smell of dirt and mud. I turned around just in time to spot a large black mass standing above me with a big snarl. It was covered in black fur and had one very large clawed paw raised above my head.

With speed and agility, I dodged as the paw came down where I used to sit and the bear jumped into the shallow water after me. The bear saw a very big fish, and it wanted in on that meal. I kicked my tail to gain speed as it charged and I jumped over a river rock in order to throw it off. It barreled over the rock like it was nothing and continued to huff and grunt at me. I've been chased by bears before; it was really more of a sport to us Mer. They could never catch us, but they always tried.

When I jumped over the rock and out of the water I thought I saw something glint from the shore, but I ignored it due to my current crisis. After a few seconds of thrashing, I was almost in the clear. The bear couldn't follow me out to the deeper water without being taken away by the current, and it was there I'd be safe.

I was just about to dive when a very loud and powerful shot rang out and nearly made me breathe in water from the shock. I had heard that thunderous sound before. I heard it many times, and always when one of my schoolmates was being killed.

The bear immediately stopped and turned to run. The noise had scared it, and my head whirled around for the source. There was the man that had fed me what I now learned was called a 'scone' and had kept me company for the past few days with his soft eyes and gentle smile. He now stood at the river bank with a shiny boom-stick in his hand pointed to the sky with a smoking tip. He looked relieved, but I felt only sheer terror grip me as I dove away.

My human had one of those terrible killing things! He was holding it and fired, right in front of me! He was going to kill me, he was going to skin me and steal my tears as I bled out on the ground like my schoolmates had! The shock made me shake and I clung to a rock on the bottom, emptying pearls all over the river bed to be carried away downstream. I had trusted him, I thought he wasn't a monster, but in the end he was! Serves me right for thinking I could trust a new person of the land! I was so stupid, I almost let the Mer fade away into nothingness…

I felt small vibrations in the water, almost too small to detect, and knew he was calling for me. I wouldn't come. I would never come for him again. I would stay here at the bottom and sing Mer lullabies to calm myself as I waited for him to leave.

Little fish, swimming in the tides…

Hold the reeds carefully and raise your voice.

Sing this melody, sing it loud and clear,

Sing it through the current for the world to hear...

Eventually I had to go for air, so I shot up by the midway rocks and took a gulp before going back down. On the shore the man sat on the sitting place next to mine in the rain. His head was hung low in the rain as he cradled a little wrapped cloth in his arms.

That is where he stayed all day. Every time I went for breath he was there. It wasn't until it began to get dark that he stood and finally left. He still clutched the cloth to his soaked chest as his hair clung to his face and he shivered with cold. He had taken the glass things off his face and was walking back through the woods with heavy steps.

I sighed a breath of relief when he finally left. I was safe once more.

And even more lonely than I'd ever been.

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**It was MAN-BEAR-PIG.**


	5. Trapped

He kept coming back.

Was he stupid? No, I knew him better than that. He was just being stubborn. Didn't he realize what I was saying to him? Didn't he know I didn't want to see him here ever again? Of course he did. He wasn't stupid, after all. He just wanted to finish the job. He wanted my tail.

Every day the man would come back and sit down on my sitting rock. He would bring a cloth filled with jam and scones while he waited by the water's edge each day for an hour or two in the morning. Sometimes he brought something to do. Once he brought a flat white thing that was very thin and smooth, as well as a feather with a sharp tip. For most of the hour he proceeded to scratch the feather's tip on the white sheet as if it brought him some kind of comfort. I wanted to know what it was that made that so fun, but my fear far outweighed my curiosity.

Another time he brought a silly looking contraption that looked like it was made out of wood. He sat down and held it in front of his chest while one hand rested over a hole in the thing's body and another cradled the thing's long neck. To my surprise, the object made a beautiful sound when he touched it, as if it were singing without words. I wanted to get closer so I could hear it better but I knew it was only a temptation. If I got close, he would stop and snatch me out of the water as he had the first time we met. Instead I hid in the reeds listening to the sweet melody…and ended up falling asleep to it.

For five days this continued, until one day he began to yell. I only felt the vibrations from under the water, so I didn't know what he was saying. I didn't want to. I wanted to forget about him.

The man began to throw pebbles into the water. I lazily watched them clink on the bottom. They became bigger rocks, about as big as my fist, and he was unrelenting. I stayed put in my spot next to the midway rocks where I was safe.

Without warning, a loud hallow splash sounded from my right. It was different from the other splashes, as if the rock was oddly shaped, and I turned my head. There I watched it fall sideways in the current, glinting in the low light. I couldn't tear my eyes off it as it crashed to the bottom and stayed there among the heavier rocks.

He had just thrown a boom-stick. The boom-stick from the day I lost my trust in him. It flashed dull gray among the darker rocks and stood out from the rest of the river. There it sat; bringing back all the terrible memories I had tried to push out of my head.

Suddenly being in the river with that horrible thing made me want to throw up. It was almost like the water of my home was poisoned and burned my skin! I pushed off the bottom with my tail in fright and shot up to the rocks above me, then franticly pulled myself up and out. The man saw me and waved his arms around, making all sorts of hollers and cries in order to get my attention.

I looked up from my perch and silently cried. He saw the flashes of white leave my eyes and bounce into the river and he paused in his yelling as his arms fell to his sides. I wanted to be anywhere but here, but if that meant going back in the water with that terrible thing than I would stay put. I could do nothing more but watch as the man watched me back. Even from this distance I could see a look on his face as if he were grieving something awful. He was probably disappointed that I had surfaced over here where he couldn't get me.

Quick as lightening, he pulled off his green tunic and kicked off his boots. I wondered what he thought he was doing. He answered my question as he jumped into the water and started to swim. I felt panicked and trapped here on my little island. I wanted to swim away, but I could still see the gleam of my deepest fears in the water as if daring me to try. I could easily save my life and swim off before the man reached me, but I would rather die than be in the water with the boom-stick again! So I pulled up my tail and gripped the stone with my hands and turned my knuckles white. By the time he reached me here in the middle of the river, I was whimpering, panting, and shaking like a leaf. But I would not leave. I couldn't.

He climbed the side as I had done, the muscles in his back flexing and rolling under his smooth dripping skin, and greeted me with a shy smile. He saw how scared I was. My tail flicked in front of my body nervously. I wasn't sure what I thought he was going to do to me, but I shook nonetheless. He became very slow and sat down on the farthest part of the stone from me, legs crossed and eyes unmoving.

"M's'rry," He said in a strong voice. I jumped at the sound. "D'dn't kn'w h'w sc'red ya 'r of g'ns."

My tail stopped flicking for a moment, then continued its anxious ritual.

"D'dn't w'nt tah sc're ya. W'nted 't s've ya fr'm the be'r," His blue eyes fell from mine and to the water below. A pained expression littered his face. "I'll n'ver do 't ag'n. Pl'se f'rg've 'm…"

The man sitting only a few feet away closed his eyes and waited. My heart was beating fast, but not heavily. More like the soft beating of a bird's wings in my chest. I stopped my silent shaking and looked over him carefully. I went over his words in my head. I compared them to his actions of the previous days. I tried to think of any possible reason why he might have almost killed himself swimming over here just to say these things to me. There was none other than the now obvious truth:

He was sorry. He hadn't known what he was doing when he scared the bear away. He thought he was helping. He wasn't trying to kill me, he only wanted to help. The realization struck me and made me feel a little stupid for not considering this possibility. Now he was asking for forgiveness and offered me a promise. Could I trust him again?

Was I willing to trust him?

I held my breath as I inched forward. He didn't stir. I was then right in front of him staring up at his saddened face. I had never seen him this close before…he looked like he was chiseled from stone but his features were natural and soft. He looked different without those silly glass things on his eyes. He also looked tired like he hadn't slept in days. I hadn't been sleeping too well myself, actually, and my hair was still a ratted mess.

It was time for me to choose. Was I going to risk my entire race's existence to be with him, or would I go back to my solitude and wait a century or two before I died of heartbreak and loneliness?

His eyebrow twitched in anticipation. He could feel me so close to him. He could have reached out, but he didn't. He wanted me to.

So I did.

I swallowed everything that was racing through my mind and I swiftly wrapped my arms around his strong torso as I pressed my face into the crook of his neck. I had to pull him forward a bit to make sure he didn't tumble backwards into the river from his surprise. There I embraced him lightly, taking in his smooth skin and breathing in his soft scent. He smelled of grasses…and the river…and scones…

Delicately he wrapped his own arms around me. I let him feel the skin of my back as he ran his hands across my spine lovingly. I shivered, but not from fear. The feeling of his hands on my back…touching me like this…It was as if everything in the world didn't matter anymore. I could forget my past when I was here in his arms. I could no longer feel tense or anxious here in my own home. I wasn't alone anymore.

I felt a small kiss on the side of my head and he whispered softly into my ear: "Th'nk ya," I squeezed him a little before pulling back. He quickly let go and stared down at my face. His eyes were as blue as the sky, but twice as beautiful. The smile on his lips was so warm and inviting, I nearly melted on the spot.

He turned to the shore where he came from. "I c'ld use s'me h'lp b'ck. N'rly d'dn't m'ke 't h're f'rst t'me."

I shook my head and looked back at the spot where I knew the boom-stick waited. He caught the fearful look in my eyes.

"Ya 't 'fraid 'f it tah sw'm?"

I nodded my head. He sighed and started to stand up. Towering over me, he swiftly dove in and I watched him disappear from my sight. A few tense moments went by before his head finally surfaced a little ways from where I sat. I was relieved, then scared. He was thrashing around a little and coughing as the current took him away. He had gone under to retrieve the boom-stick, but it was deeper than he had thought!

I instantly ignored my fear and jumped in after him. In no time at all I was by his side, and he let me help by pushing him to the shore with powerful pumps of my tail. In his hand he had the boom-stick, but I pressed on knowing that without my help he might drown. Humans were really bad swimmers.

We got to the shore and he dragged himself onto the bank and coughed into the sand. Next to him sat the deadly weapon, shining menacingly in the sunlight. I stayed in the water, keeping my distance from it. Seeing my fear, he picked it up and tossed it as far as he could into the tall grasses and needle bushes where it would never be found again. I breathed a sigh of relief and quickly joined him on land so I could rub his back in circles, trying to soothe him as he spat out water. He rolled over on his back with his legs still dangling in the water trying to catch his breath. He looked up at me and grinned.

"St'll h'ven't t'ld ya mah n'me, h've I?" He said. "M' Berw'ld."

Berwald. The man's name was Berwald. I smiled at him and tried my best to imitate human speech. It mostly sounded like garbled nonsense, but after some struggling I was able to make out something similar to words. "Ahym Tihnho," I felt my face flush with embarrassment on not being able to correctly say my own name.

"T'ho?" He tried to say it right. I shook my head and tried again.

"Tienho."

"Teno?"

"T-Teuno…"

He blinked and concentrated. "…Tino?"

I rewarded him with an embrace and a kiss on the cheek.

We lay side by side as the sun slowly dried us off. The summer breeze was warm and gentle, and Berwald's hand stayed put on my wrist as we watched the clouds roll by. He told me a few things about where he comes from. The bakery he worked in, the people of his village, and the journey he had made to get here from the lands far away on the big white birds. I listened in silence to his story, wishing I could tell him mine. But mostly I was happy. No longer would the river be such a forlorn place! Berwald did not have a tail, but he defiantly had a place in my heart which beat soundly in my chest at the little contact we shared on the sand.

It was strange…just this morning I had feared and hated him. Now I could only feel how glad I was to have someone so…gentle and sweet…accompany me again here by the river. In a world of monsters, there was one I could trust. He was one I could love.

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**Jeez, I fiddled with this one a lot. I hope it doesn't seem off to you guys. Tried my best!**

**They can FINALLY get lovey-dovey now. Just wait for the next (and last) chapter~**


	6. Sleep, Little One END

Summer would be over soon, which gave me and Berwald not that much time to have real fun and swim in the river together. The days melted away as he would come in the early mornings and strip down to his trousers, then jump into the cold rushing water. We would laugh and play and splash around in the calm shallow areas where Berwald had no trouble swimming. I had missed playing with someone more than I thought, and the time I had with Berwald was pure ecstasy for me.

One day he brought an odd silver object with two blades and holes for his fingers. After some persuasion, he was able to sit me down on my sitting rock as he began to cut my hair. He had noticed the trouble it was causing me, and I was relieved when it was cut short once again. He did a wonderful job.

Sometimes I could almost feel like my home had never changed. While we chased each other around in the water, it was almost like the other Mer were right there behind the rocks, also playing and displaying their silver scales for the old people of the land that had treated us so well. It was those moments that, as soon gone, left me feeling rather melancholy. Berwald sometimes picked up on this and would put his arm around me and question what was wrong. I wished I could tell him. If only I could speak human, or if he could learn Mer…

Why didn't I think of that sooner? Due to physical limitations it was impossible for me to speak human and it was impossible for Berwald to speak Mer, but if I could understand him that meant he could maybe understand me!

I dunked him after giving him little warning, but he managed to get a good breath before submerging in the pool. Once underwater, I began to sing. Mer communicate by vibrating something in our throats. It creates pitches and sounds resembling speech that anything could hear if it stuck its head under the waves. Berwald heard my voice and his eyes were wide with awe. I sang to him a song of love. Mer would often sing this with their partners, and I'm not sure why it was the first thing to pop into my head. Perhaps I thought of Berwald as my partner. He certainly thought of me as his.

We surfaced and I waited for his response. I didn't wait long. As soon as he got a breath of air, he responded in his heavily accented human speech. "W'w, th't w's beau't'ful T'no," He gasped. I nodded in appreciation and ducked him back under.

"Berwald," I said in Mer as he watched me closely. "There are so many things I want to tell you!" I held onto his arm as I pleaded and hoped he would understand what I was trying to say. He broke the surface.

"M's'rry, I c'n't t'lk l'ke th't und'rw'ter. T's imp'ss'ble," he apologized. I smacked my head.

No, I want you to learn how to understand me, not speak to me!

He blinked at my frustrated look. I pointed to his mouth and to my ears. Then to my mouth and to his ears. After a few pondering seconds, a look of realization washed over him.

"I c'ld l'rn to und'rst'nd ya…?"

Yes!

From there on out, I was busy teaching him the meanings of various sounds and clicks under the water. I started with things I could point to, as that would be easiest, but when it came to phrases and sentence structure it was up to him to ask how to say something and for me to provide the translation. Berwald soaked it up like a sponge and knew how to differentiate a few words from others. It would take quite a long time for him to understand it completely, but this was a start.

I then decided there was a phrase I needed him to know. One day, before he had to leave, I pulled him under and said it in Mer. Berwald looked confused as we surfaced.

"Wh't d's th't m'n?" He asked.

I smiled and pulled his lips onto mine. We held there for a few breathtaking moments. His hand cautiously ran up the curve of my back and his other held back of my head delicately. I broke the kiss slowly, cherishing every second, and he looked into my eyes with such intensity and awe I had never seen before.

"D's 't m'n…I l've ya?"

Another kiss confirmed this.

Winter was fast approaching. Berwald would still jump in the water, despite how chilly it was becoming, but needed to return earlier than usual. The days started to grow shorter, which was why he had to leave so soon. He only had a few hours a day in the morning to spend with me before he went back to the village where he lived and worked. Seeing him leave always made me sad, but I took comfort in the fact that he would be back the next day as the sun rose.

When it was too cold to swim without risking sickness, our lessons ceased. My teaching could only be done if he could hold his head under the water.

Winter was almost here. I began to feel sluggish in the cold. In winter weather, Mer hibernate much like fish. Berwald must have noticed, because he began to bring more than the usual scones or other small treats I enjoyed. I needed to gain more weight if I were going to survive the winter, so I took most of my free time eating and lounging around the water's edge when the threat of human traffic was low. Berwald seemed to enjoy watching me eat his cooking. I found everything he brought me tasty and amazing, which it was.

When the time came for me to go to take my long sleep, there was already a thin layer of ice on the water's edge. I had to crack and break it in order to reach Berwald, who scooped me up and carried me ashore in his arms.

I was weak and sleepy. I knew this was it. This was my last day awake with Berwald until spring. I hoped he would last the winter without me, he hated having to skip these times we spent together.

As I snuggled into the warm long coat he had wrapped around my torso and tail as we lay on the sand, he saw the look I gave him and began to seem a little sad. I reassured him with a sleepy smile, which he gave back as he kissed my brow.

"R'ya go'ng tah sl'p s'n?" he asked. I groggily nodded my head. He sighed and pulled me closer, which I accepted appreciatively. Wind chill here on the surface was killer when you were still wet, but he kept me warm.

"I'll b' h're f'r ya wh'n ya w'ke up," He whispered soothingly into my ear. "J'st as l'ng as ya 'r st'll h're wh'n I c'me b'ck."

I squeezed his hand. He squeezed mine back.

We watched the birds migrate over the sky and felt the cold wind on our faces. It was such a perfect moment, and I didn't want it to end. But as the time came and my eyes grew heavier with fatigue, and we knew it was time to say goodbye. Before I slipped back into the icy water, Berwald dug into his pocket and pulled something out.

It was a shiny green gem cut, polished, and fitted onto a gold band. I took it and admired the craftsmanship. Humans were truly masters of the arts.

"Do ya r'm'mber th's st'ne?" He asked. I shook my head and he took the ring in one hand and my hand in his other. Berwald slipped it on my finger and it fit perfectly, shining against my skin and reflecting little green dots. "T's the st'ne ya g've m' wh'n I g've ya my sc'ne th't day. H'd 't cut an' m'de 'nto r'ngs."

I watched him take off a glove from his hand, revealing another ring just like mine around his finger. I smiled warmly and put my cheek in his palm, thanking him for the gift.

"G'ving some'ne a r'ng m'ns th'y w'nna sp'nd the r'st of th'r l'ves t'geth'r," he cupped my face with both hands and kissed me sweetly. "I w'nna sp'nd m'ne w'th ya…"

I kissed back and a few pearl tears fell from my lids. He caught them, admiring their beauty in his hand, before clenching them in his fist, determined to keep them as reminders of his love during the long winter months to come.

I would gladly spend my life with him. He was the one thing that kept me from dying out here in my loneliness. Though I knew Berwald would continue to grow older as I aged slowly, I was determined to stay by his side until his last breath. When that day comes, I will gladly wish for death by his side. I will be with him as we descend into the darkness hand in hand.

When Berwald disappeared into the trees, I sunk into the water and found the sleeping place us Mer would use every winter. Though I was alone here now, I was never truly by myself. I had the ring on my finger to prove that.

As my consciousness started to fade, I rubbed the surface of the golden band and sang myself an old Mer lullaby. I may be the last Mer left, but here in the place of my lost family and ancestors…

I was home.

_Sleep, little one,_

_Drift away to your dreams._

_Sleep, little one,_

_Love will wake you in the spring…_

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**THE END. I bet it was a bit dissapointing to a few of you, huh? Oh well. I really don't think it could have gone any other way, though.**

**What happens next is up to your imagination~**

**Thanks for reading! Reviews are nice, blah blah blah you know the drill.**

**MURMAAAIDS DURRRR**


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